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Looking for Information for Consumers About Food Poisoning in Home Canning, Preserving, Jam, Salsa Making, Etc. - Causes and Prevention in 2018? Scroll down this page and follow the links.
And if you bring home some fruit or vegetables and want to can, freeze, make
jam, salsa or pickles, see this
page for simple, reliable, illustrated canning, freezing or preserving
directions. There are plenty of other related resources, click on the resources dropdown above.

These pages provide basic facts regarding foodborne pathogenic
microorganisms and natural toxins related to home food preservation
(canning, bottling, drying, jams, salsas, pickling, sauces, etc.).
Look up any pathogen (botulism, salmonella, Staph, etc.) and find
out what it does and how to prevent it. The information was prepared
by the Food & Drug Administration, the Centers for Disease Control &
Prevention, the USDA Food Safety Inspection Service, and the
National Institutes of Health. And while I certainly wouldn't trust
my health or safety to the government (does peanut butter ring a
bell), their guidance is good. Do what they say... not what they
do!

Food illnesses - Key Facts

The chart below includes foodborne disease-causing organisms that
frequently cause illness in the United States.. Symptoms range from
relatively mild discomfort to very serious,life-threatening illness.
While the very young, the elderly, and persons with weakened immune
systems are at greatest risk of serious consequences from most
foodborne illnesses, some of the organisms shown below pose grave
threats to all persons.

Organism

Common Name
and Sources of Illness

Onset Time After Ingesting

Signs & Symptoms

Duration

Detailed Food
Sources

Bacillus cereus

B. cereus food
poisoningCommon in rice and leftovers, as
well as sauces, soups, and other prepared foods that
have sat out too long at room temperature.

10-16 hrs

Abdominal cramps, watery diarrhea, nausea

24-48 hours

Meats, stews, gravies, vanilla sauce

Campylobacter
jejuni

Campylobacteriosis

2-5 days

Diarrhea, cramps, fever, and vomiting; diarrhea may
be bloody

2-10 days

Raw and undercooked poultry, unpasteurized
milk,contaminated water

Clostridium
botulinum

Botulism
- only grows in anaerobic environments, that is
containers that are sealed or otherwise exclude air,
such as imersed in oil.

12-72 hours

Vomiting, diarrhea, blurred vision, double vision,
difficulty in swallowing, muscle weakness. Can
result in respiratory failure and death

Fever, muscle aches, and nausea or diarrhea.
Pregnant women may have mild flu-like illness, and
infection can lead to premature delivery or
stillbirth. The elderly or immunocompromised
patients may develop bacteremia or meningitis.

Shigellosis or Bacillary dysenteryCommonly seen
in Third World restauramnts, child-care settings and
schools. Shigellosis is a cause of traveler's
diarrhea, from contaminated food and water in
developing countries. People with shigellosis shed
the bacteria in their feces. Getting just a little
bit of the Shigella bacteria into your mouth is
enough to cause symptoms.

Recommendations to Prevent Food Illnesses

Keep cold food, at or
below 40 °F, in the refrigerator, in coolers, or in containers
on ice.

Limit the time coolers
are open. Open and close the lid quickly. Do not leave coolers
in direct sunlight.

Keep foods served hot
at or above 140 °F, in chafing dishes, warming trays, slow
cookers or on the grill. You can keep cooked meats hot by
setting them to the side of the grill rack, not directly over
the coals where they could overcook.

Use a food thermometer
to check the safe recommended temperatures.

Never leave food
between 40 and 140 ˚F for more than two hours. If the
temperature is above 90 °F, food should not be left out more
than one hour.

Clean: Make
sure to always wash your hands and surfaces with soap and warm water
for 20 seconds before cooking and after handling raw meat or poultry
during cooking. Wash cutting boards, dishes, utensils, and work
spaces with soap and warm water too. If you plan to be away from the
kitchen, pack clean cloths and moist towelettes for cleaning
surfaces and hands.

Separate: When
taking food off the grill, use a clean platter. Don't put cooked
food on the same platter that held raw meat or poultry. Any harmful
bacteria present in the raw meat juices could contaminate safely
cooked food.

Cook: Always use
a food thermometer to check the internal temperature of burgers,
steaks, chicken, and foods containing meat or poultry.

Hamburgers, sausages
and other ground meats should reach 160 °F.

All poultry should
reach a minimum temperature of 165 °F.

Whole cuts of pork,
lamb, veal, and of beef should be cooked to 145 °F as measured
by a food thermometer placed in the thickest part of the meat,
and allowed to rest for three minutes before eating. A "rest
time" is the amount of time the product remains at the final
temperature, after it has been removed from a grill, oven, or
other heat source. During the three minutes after meat is
removed from the heat source, its temperature remains constant
or continues to rise, which destroys pathogens.

Fish should be cooked
to 145 °F.

Meat and poultry cooked
on a grill often browns very fast on the outside, and by using a
food thermometer you can be sure items have reached a safe
minimum internal temperature needed to destroy any harmful
bacteria that may be present.

Chill: After
a cookout, place leftovers in shallow containers and refrigerate or
freeze immediately. Discard food left in the Danger Zone too long.
Remember, when in doubt, throw it out!

For more information about food safety, call FDA's Food Information
Line at: 1-888-SAFEFOOD or submit
your inquiry electronically. The line is open Monday
through Friday 10AM to 4PM EST except for Thursdays 12:30PM to 1:30PM
EST and Federal Holidays.

All of the following subjects below are
covered in the FDA's "Bad Bug Book", which is a free PDF, available to download
here:

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